𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐖 || 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴

𝟎𝟐 || 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐲𝐞𝐬

𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴:
"At The Door — The Strokes"
02:08 ━━━●━───── 05:10

ㅤ ㅤ◁ㅤ ❚❚ ㅤ▷ ㅤㅤ

.☘︎ ݁˖

"You have three minutes," the peacekeeper grunted as he shoved Gin and Barric into the small room.

The door slammed shut with a bang as Barric beelined for his youngest sister, grabbing her roughly by the shoulders. Persephone yelped in pain, tears still streaming down her face, but her small protest went unnoticed, lost amongst the sound of Barric's worry thundering in his ears.

"Persi, I'm going to need you to listen to me very carefully," he said slowly so that she could understand him. "You can do this, okay? I know that you think you can't win but I'm telling you now that you can."

"But I can't fight," she sobbed back.

Barric shrugged, as though it were completely irrelevant. "So don't fight. Persi, all you have to do is survive. There's only twenty three of them-"

"Twenty two if you discount Finch," Gin added. "He'll protect you. Or may Demeter have mercy on his soul."

"Twenty two then," he agreed. "Twenty two people and not one of them knows how to survive better than you. Not to mention some of them will be around the twelve mark anyway. Tell me again, how many days have you spent out in that forest? Rain or shine? Snow or thunderstorm?"

"Yeah, in Berryglade," Persephone countered, wiping her eyes on her big brother's shirt. It was the safest forest in the district. Surviving a night in the Berryglade barely counted for anything, everyone knew that.

Barric shook his head. "Doesn't matter. All I'm saying is that you're perfectly capable of surviving out there. So survive."

"But what about all the people trying to kill me?"

"Fuck them," he scoffed. "You're pretty quick, Little Bird, even if you don't think it. And hey, if they can't kill you if they can't catch you, right?"

Persephone nodded slowly, suddenly feeling slightly better about her odds. Maybe she could win? She'd just have to be very, very, very, very, very lucky. Barric's face lit up with a smile, which she gladly returned with a weak one of her own.

"There's the Little Sparrow I know," he said, engulfing her in a big hug.

It was one of those hugs that Persephone never wanted to end. The kind that made her feel warm and safe, wrapped up like a little chick in a nest. It was the same kind of hug that her father used to give her when he was still alive. Every time she cried about anything, all he'd have to do was wrap her up in his big, strong arms and then everything would be okay again.

After he died, Barric started trying to replicate them for her but, although similar, it was never quite the same.

After a few short seconds that Persephone wished could last eternity, Barric pulled away, giving her arms a few quick rubs in a further attempt to calm her down. Then he moved out of the way, allowing Gin to walk forward with Zea in her arms and say her goodbyes.

"Hold out your hand." Gin spoke softly to her little sister as she always had, like she was talking to a frightened animal.

Persephone did as instructed, watching carefully as her older sister pressed something small and round into her palm. Whatever it was, it was cold and seemed to vibrate slightly every second. The bottom of the little object was flat and smooth while the top, although still smooth, was covered in irregular bumps.